Simple answers to Complex Questions and Complex Answers to Simple Questions.
In real life, I'm a Greater-Toronto (Canada) Realtor with RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd, Brokerage. I first joined RE/MAX in 1983 and was first Registered to Trade in Real Estate in Ontario in 1974.
Formerly known as "Two-Finger Ramblings of a Forensic Acuitant turned Community Synthesizer"

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Crown Assets, Stewardship & Puisne Premiers

Two items reported this week 1)likely loss of $5 billion in NAFTA-Kafka duties & tariffs and 2) reports of puisne-Premier Klein saying that the Crown's oil assets 'belong' to Albertans, prompt this call to action.

If the timber was successfully sold with the price-to-U.S.-consumers raised by $5 billion - raise the price for the raw material (stumpage) and keep that money here.

Isn't most of the timber coming from Crown Land? why are the Stewards-of-the-Crown NOT charging market prices for their/Our assets?

If one (or any) provincial Steward-of-the-Crown's recently-economically-viable oil assets thinks the lucky lines-of-longitude boundary division create a fiscal-firewall around his/their treasure trove while the rest of Canada "freezes in the dark" - change the boundaries.

Madame Vice Regal, with respect, I ask you to assert the Crown's underpinning ownership and FIX the fiscal imbalance for EVERYBODY.

Assert the Crown's authority in light of the 2005 reality.

Canada IS split in two - folks living in or near urban centres (70-80%) and everybody else, living a "rural" life (for lack of a better term).

Under the current constitutional and taxation rules concerning cities, provinces & the national government, the cities will ALL flounder unless the plenty of the rural/resource lands are shared with ALL Canadians.

I propose that you consider creating 10-20-30 new provinces comprised of any city with a population of 400,000 or more and let these new "local" entities run (tax and spend for) their "local" affairs - the remaining "great north & east & west" will be administered nationally and its excess revenue (after paying for national services) transferred per capital to the new provinces.